PURE/MAKANDE: Today's Swahili Word Of The Day By Yusuf Juma

A plate of githeri. | image source: quazoo.com

After proving to be good at translating words that are not commonly used in this part of the world after teaching Gidi and Ghost that mnyamadege is the Swahili word for duck-billed platypus on Tuesday, Yusuf Juma (or YJ as Radio Jambo have nicknamed him), was caught by surprise when a listener asked him for the Swahili translation for the English word "succotash".

If we have lost you, and we know we have, succotash is the English word pure or makande. Still do not get what we are on about? Well, we will make it simple. Pure is the Swahili word githeri, the name given to a Kenyan meal made using maize and beans. Githeri is not a Swahili word though but it is the most commonly used name for the meal which has its origin in Central Kenya. Pure and makande are the Swahili words for the meal whereas "succotash" is the English equivalent.

To add to those two words, YJ also enlightened Radio Jambo fans that kikata is the Swahili word for a plot, i.e. a small piece of land.